On 30 Aug, 1, 6 and 8 September 2021, the Global Centre of Tourism Education and Training of the Macao Institute for Tourism Studies delivered a training programme over a 4-day period on Strategic Management for the final year hospitality degree students of Sunway University, Malaysia. Around 70 students attended the training. This is the first training and exchange activity between the Global Centre for Tourism Education and Training of Macao Institute for Tourism Studies and Sunway University. This programme comprised 8 webinars on the topics Crisis Management, Organization & Operations at the Strategic Level, Human Resource Management and Leadership and Strategic Change.
The programme first highlighted the importance of distinguishing the difference between vision and mission with the former being future focused and the latter focused on operations, by Prof. Alastair Morrison, a leading tourism author and scholar, follow by examples given by IFTM scholar, Dr. Ubaldino Couto in having a “festivalisation” strategy and the contribution of festivals and special events in enhancing tourist experience. Other IFTM scholar such as Prof. John Ap, Dr. Henrique Ngan, Dr. Louis Vong and Dr. Ali Bavik, delivered presentations on Risk and Crisis Management, Strategic Issues for Human Resources Management in the Covid-19 Pandemic Era, and Contemporary Trends and Issues in Leadership, respectively. External presenters such as Ms. Kim Lam, Area Manager, Duty Manager Operations of Hong Kong Disneyland and Ms. Joyce Wong, Director of Training, Learning Academy of Melco Resorts & Entertainment were invited to share practical examples on how they handled the challenges and issues in operations and Human resources during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Ms. Jackie Hoo, General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Macau who also hails from Malaysia shared her experience and reflections on leadership management with her fellow compatriots.
A student from Sunway University, Mr. Bryan Ting, expressed his gratitude for the training provided to them that “…students of Sunway University and I truly learned and benefited a lot from this workshop. Thank you for your generosity with your time and knowledge that you have imparted to us.”
Dr. Maggie Leong, the subject lecturer expressed her appreciation for the programme and commented that students gave good feedback about the workshop. Some feedback Dr. Leong received from the students were:
• “A very beneficial and knowledgeable workshop where students are able to be exposed to various aspects of strategic management, also getting to listen from highly experienced professors and lecturers from other universities.”
• “A very good opportunity to learn the insight from the professionals.”
• “Easy to understand, overall is a very good experience.”
The Centre is part of IFTM’s efforts to strengthen Macao’s position as an international hub for tourism education and training. It provides training and education courses in co-operation with UNWTO and other parties to help tourism officials and professionals enhance their knowledge and skills. Since 2016 when it was established, the Centre has hosted more than 35 programmes with around 502 participants from 34 countries and regions who have been involved in the Centre’s training activities.